NEW PARTNERSHIP BRINGS JOYS OF MANUFACTURING TO MORE KIDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs
(NBT), National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) Develop
National Youth Summer Manufacturing Camp
Program

ROCKFORD,
IL, March 23, 2010 – A landmark partnership between two organizations is pioneering
the effort to inspire tomorrow’s inventors, engineers, manufacturers and
entrepreneurs, and addresses a dire need to fill skilled labor positions in
this country.

Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs (NBT),
The Foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, Intl. (FMA),
and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), have
joined forces to develop a national program that builds on NBT’s successful
summer manufacturing camp blueprint.

In 2010, 18 NACCE member community
colleges throughout the United
States will offer NBT summer manufacturing camps
targeting youth at the critical level of secondary education, exposing them to
math, science, engineering and entrepreneurship principles, while having the
opportunity to see the technology being used in the industry.

"Our new
partnership sets in place a model curriculum to enable NACCE schools to conduct
a series of summer manufacturing career exploration experiences for young people,”
said Gerald Shankel, president & CEO of the FMA. "With beginner through
advanced programs, students can return for a new camp experience each summer,
being challenged more in each subsequent program. In addition to learning
about manufacturing technologies, participants also will learn how products
become businesses and how small businesses are run. This should make them very
desirable as employees once they complete their schooling. Through this
collaboration we have the potential to operate camps in hundreds ofNACCE
member colleges across the U.S.
in the future.”

"NBT’s summer manufacturing camp program is a perfect
fit for our organization and our member colleges, as we blend the skill
required in manufacturing with the knowledge needed to become a successful
entrepreneur. We are thrilled to help our members expand their summer curricula
and reach the youth of their communities with this new offering,” said Heather
Van Sickle, executive director of NACCE. "These camps offer young people a fun
manufacturing career exploration experience and provide a solid foundation if
they decide to choose a career in one of the trades. They will be inspired to
follow in the footsteps of some of the most important people in our country’s history
– the entrepreneurs.”

This year, camps will be offered at:

College of the Sequoias, Visalia, Calif.

Yuba College,
Marysville, Calif.

Rock Valley
College, Rockford, Ill.

Quinsigamond Community
College, Worcester,
Mass.

Springfield Technical
Community College, Springfield, Mass.

Southern Maine
Community College, South Portland, Maine

Pine Technical
College, Pine City, Minn.

Minnesota State
Community & Tech College, Fergus
Falls, Minn.

Lake Superior College,
Duluth, Minn.

Hennepin Technical
College, Minneapolis, Minn.

Southeast Community
College, Lincoln,
Neb.

Lorain County
Community College, Elyria, Ohio

York Technical
College, Rock Hill, S.C.

Fox Valley
Technical College,
Appleton, Wis.

Moraine Park
Technical College,
West Bend, Wis.

Northeast Wisconsin
Technical College,
Green Bay, Wis.

Montgomery County
Community College, Blue Bell, Penn.

Itawamba Community
College, Tupelo,
Miss.

Camp participants use technology to
create a product from start to finish providing them
practical manufacturing experience in 3D design, computer numerical
control (CNC) programming, welding, machining, and more, while learning product
creation, problem solving, entrepreneurship and team building. Visits to area
manufacturers provide an up-close look at products being made as well as career
advice and inspiration from the entrepreneurs who run the companies.

"The
purpose of the manufacturing camps is to provide a positive, hands-on
experience so young people will consider manufacturing as a career option,”
said Shankel. "Both NACCE and NBT are making an investment in tomorrow’s
workforce because there is an ever-increasing demand for highly-skilled
professionals who can design, program and operate technology.”

"These camps expose youth to vocational and
technical trades that they would rarely encounter in public education systems,”
said actor and producer John Ratzenberger, an NBT founder who leads the group’s
efforts to promote manufacturing as a viable career choice. "Many young people today have no role models
when it comes to fixing things themselves or taking pride in building something
useful, and they dismiss the idea of considering a career in one of the manual
arts such as manufacturing, electrical, plumbing, carpentry or welding. These
are some of the career areas that offer the greatest opportunity for people who
want to become entrepreneurs. With more
than 70 percent of all the jobs created in the United States coming from small
businesses – many of them started and run by inspired entrepreneurs, this is a
segment of our economy that deserves all the support and inspiration we can
provide.”

A recent national poll sponsored by NBT showed
a majority of teens – 52 percent – have little or no interest in a manufacturing
career and another 21 percent are ambivalent. When asked why, a whopping 61
percent said they seek a professional career, far surpassing other issues such
as pay (17 percent), career growth (15 percent) and physical work (14 percent).

"It’s absolutely critical for this
mindset to change because when America
recovers from our economic downtown, there will be a dire need for skilled
manpower in the trades,” added Ratzenberger. "Numerous surveys conducted by manufacturing
organizations predict a labor shortage if we don’t inform the nation’s youth
about the available opportunities and enlist them to fill the sophisticated, high-tech
jobs available in areas such as robotics and laser technologies.”

NBT introduces
young people to careers in the trades through manufacturing summer camps for youth. It
also issues scholarships to students at
colleges and trade schools pursuing studies that lead to careers in
manufacturing. More information on
NBT is available by visiting www.NutsAndBoltsFoundation.org. Based
in Rockford, Ill., the Fabricators & Manufacturers
Association, International, is a professional organization with more than 2,100
members working together to improve the metal forming and fabricating
industry. Learn more at www.fmanet.org.

About
NACCE

NACCE
connects community college administrators and faculty with knowledge and
successful practices regarding entrepreneurial thinking, entrepreneurship
education and student business incubation.
NACCE holds an annual conference, and produces monthly podcasts and
webinars. It also publishes a quarterly
journal, hosts a dynamic list-serv, develops web resources such as shared
entrepreneurship curricula and syllabi for faculty, creates guides in beginning
and sustaining entrepreneurship and student business incubation programs, as
well as tips for grant proposals specific to entrepreneurial endeavors at
community colleges. For more
information, visit www.nacce.com.